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Crown Jewels of Ossetia
The Ossetian Crown Jewels are a set of antique jewellry that have been worn by successive monarchs and their consorts. Most of them can be found at Reiza Palace, though some are scattered around between Wentyn Castle and various museums. Some have been lost over time, but most survive. When Ambrai I was crowned the first prince of Ossetia, there was neither time nor money to design and create a crown. A crown of golden laurel leaves (Item 1 - Coronation Crown of Ambrai I) was quickly fashioned as a replacement. It is featured on his coronation painting but can only be seen with digital equipment - it is not visible to the naked eye. This crown was only ever worn by him and was put into storage after the coronation. It is kept at Reiza Palace. When coronation preparations began for Ambrai II, a new crown (Item 2 - Crown of the Ossetian State) was designed and built, apparently to the specifications of Ambrai I. It is made of gold and decorated with nineteen enamel pictures as well as precious stones (rubies, sapphires, emeralds and amethysts), semi-precious stones (pearls, agates) and almandine. Four pendants hang from chains on each side, and one at the back. At the top sits a golden dragon. Oddly enough, it is not the dragon found in the royal family's crest. The reasons for this are unknown. Eleven princes have been crowned with it, and it is still in use today, the last coronation being for Ambrai XII some few years ago. It is a "closed" type of crown, as opposed to an "open" type. Closed crowns are designed such so as to symbolise the monarch's complete control over the country, while open crowns symbolise that the monarch is subject to serve the country by ruling it, rather than just ruling it. Since the founding of the Magisterial Council and the changing of the monarchy from absolute to constitutional, many people have been pushing for the creation of a new, open type crown. Nothing has come of such discussion however and it is likely that, due to the State Crown's historical significance, nothing ever will. The plans for the coronation of Ambrai XIII still include the use of the State Crown. The crown used during the coronation of a Princess (Item 3 - Consort Crown) was designed alongside the State Crown, but is of a completely different type. It is a much smaller, less grand open crown. It contains no fabrics or cushioning parts, and thusly fits into the hair of the princess, rather than sitting on the head of the prince as the State Crown does. The Consort Crown is made of iron covered with beaten gold, and is quite heavy because of it. Three hundred and forty two crystals sit alongside each other that gives the crown a sparkling appearance. A large diamond hangs in the middle, and sits on the brow of the princess. Two blue diamonds point up on either side on the second points. A thin stretch of pure gold finishes the crown at the very end. It is very different to the State Crown - open type as opposed to closed - because the princess has no real power while the prince lives. When he dies she becomes head of state until the coronation of his heir, at which point she loses the title of princess and, thusly, her regnant powers. The only exception to this rule was the Princess Iliena Feiran, who ruled for twenty-two years after the death of her husband, Ambrai VIII until their son Ambrai IX came of age. The fourth crown in the set is the most expensive. Known informally as the "Lady's" crown (Item 4 - Crown of the Former Princess), it was created by the order of Ambrai III who wished to honour his mother, the Princess Zelda Nohansen, consort of Ambrai II. Arguably more beautiful than the Consort Crown, it is certainly more expensive. It has slightly larger crystals of the same type, with more of them - four hundred and twenty eight. A very large amethyst sits in the middle, flanked by smaller amethysts in a circle, themselves surrounded by more crystals. Two more amethysts sit on either side of this arrangement, and more again are set at certain points around the crown. Three large diamonds sit on top in the middle of the front piece, with four more smaller diamonds surrounding a deep garnet in the middle. This arrangement is repeated without the garnet at points around the crown, like the amethysts. The reason that so many amethysts are present is because the colour of the crest assigned to a former princess is a deep purple. This crown is only ever worn during matters of state in between the death of the previous monarch and the coronation of his heir, and then during the coronation. It was last worn by the Lady Idril Leniska. The fifth crown (Item 5 - Crown of the Royal Princess) is from the same designer of the Consort Crown and is quite similar in make, if not style. Using beaten silver instead of gold, it again features the many crystals that adorn the other female crowns. The nine points of the crown are set with diamonds. The sixth and last crown (Item 6 - Crown of the Noble Princess) is a companion crown to the previous crown, and is informally called the "Sister's Crown". Utilising a much more rigid, traditional design, with the same crystals, this time the diamonds are set in small circular shapes in the very middle. The meaning of the names is that the Crown of the Royal Princess is worn by the daughter of the reigning monarch, while the Crown of the Noble Princess is worn by the monarch's sister. If he has no sister, the crown is not worn by anyone. If he has two daughters, the previous crown goes to the first born princess, while this crown goes to the second born, such as in the case of the Princesses Arien and Rislyn, daughters of Ambrai VII. The Prince(s) of the Blood do not have any crown. The most important items next to the State Crown, above even all the other crowns, are the coronation regalia (Item 7 - Royal Scepter of the Dragon, Royal Master Blade of Ambrai I). These are used only during the coronation. The sword is the actual sword used by Ambrai I, but after his death it became used only during coronations. It has not even been removed from it's scabbard since Ambrai I's death - Ambrai II used it in his coronation but preferred a very different, "flowing" sword for every day use. The hilt and the scabbard have been lavishly designed, but nobody knows what the sword looks like unsheathed. Neither does anybody know if the metal in the sword is in a good condition. The staff was designed for the coronation of Ambrai II and is one of the most expensive object of all the crown jewels. Made of solid gold, it is adorned with many miniature dragons. The motto of the royal family - Sapientia, Virtus, Vox - are emblazoned on one side of the top mace half. The most expensive and lavish of all the crown jewels is a set consisting of a necklace and earrings (Item 8 - Szerelet Éksera). They were ordered by Ambrai V and presented as a wedding gift to his consort, the Princess Izaea Sangna. A large, exquisite necklace comprising of small diamonds, faceted rubies and four of the largest known garnets in the world. This design continues with the earrings. Rumoured to cost three year's worth of the entire princedom's revenue, their purchase was the biggest scandal of the time. Izaea wore them at their wedding, but refused to wear them again after due to their weight, which is significant. There is no real translation for their name - Szerelet Éksera - the closest a translation can come to is Dark-hearted Jewels. The meaning of the name was never fully revealed. These jewels were stolen in the raid on Stronghold Castle during the war with Andromeda, and remained missing for twenty years. When they were found, they were handed over to Ambrai XI with sincere apologies from Andromeda, with whom Ossetia had retained genial relations. Today they are on display at Reiza Palace. The next in the set is a pair of earrings (Item 9 - Emeralds of Princess Alexia) bought by Ambrai VII for the Princess Alexia Gorenn as an anniversary gift. They are made primarily of silver, with crystals imprinted onto the base. Three diamonds are to be found on each - two in the middle, one on the bottom. Two emeralds hang on the inside of each earring, with seven smaller emeralds hanging from the end of each. They were first worn by Alexia during the anniversary celebrations, and were worn several times by the Princess Aladra, consort of Ambrai IX. Nobody has worn them since. They are on display at Athmyr House at Aladra's insistence. The final object is a small bracelet (Item 10 - Princess-Consort Ianthe's Bracelet) purchased by Ambrai IX as a wedding gift to the Princess-Consort Ianthe, consort of Ambrai X. It is made of silver, thicker than is usually found on jewellry, and inlaid with crystals. Thirteen small, faceted rubies make up the main feature of the bracelet. Ianthe wore it at her wedding, and it was placed on her right wrist during her funeral. It was to have been buried with her but palace staff objected to this as it was given to her by Ambrai IX, and according to the law only jewels given to a princess by the prince can be buried with her. All other jewels given by royal family members are seen as belonging to the crown jewels. The bracelet is on display next to Princess Alexia's earrings at Athmyr House.